98. Come Beat Me

"Carl."

In the darkness, Reid stepped out in response to Carl's voice. His gaze swept across Hansen's corpse on the ground in the dim passageway, then over Song Zhaomei, who sat collapsed nearby, trembling as she covered her face, utterly unaware of what had happened around her. Finally, his eyes settled on Carl.

Carl's appearance had been completely beyond Reid's expectations. He had never imagined that Carl would appear amid this chaos, nor had he expected Hansen to ultimately die by KK's hand.

But there was one thing he knew clearly.

No matter what the situation was now, Song Zhaomei was right in front of him.

"Hand Little Song over to me."

Reid's voice echoed through the narrow corridor, carrying an unquestionable resolve.

His body sank slightly, his center of gravity shifting forward. His left hand hovered at his waist, while his right seemed to hang naturally at his side. But Carl knew that hand could draw the "Discarded Pawn" pistol and take aim in a fraction of a second.

Reid's Kerenzikov enhanced reflex implant was clearly poised to trigger, making his whole body resemble a tightly drawn bow.

Carl remained where he was, his posture even somewhat relaxed, though his fingers still rested near the KK pistol at his waist.

He looked at Reid with calm eyes, as though he were looking at someone who could be called a friend—or assessing a good dog.

"Hand her over to you?" Carl repeated, no emotion audible in his voice. "And then what? Take her back to Myles and let her keep serving as New America's tool for exploring the Blackwall, waiting for New America to dig through it and bring about the second DataKrash?"

"She is New America's asset, and she is my responsibility." Reid's voice was low and steady. "I